Standard Lemma guide

cantharides

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • UK: /kænˈθæɹɪdiːz/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Spanish fly, Lytta vesicatoria (syn. Cantharis vesicatoria).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Spanish fly; a vesicant extracted from the beetle, popularly held to have aphrodisiac properties.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Late Middle English, from Latin cantharides, plural of cantharis.